We investigate the merging rates of compact binaries in galaxies and the related detection rate of gravitational wave (GW) events with AdvLIGO/Virgo and with the Einstein Telescope. To this purpose, ...we rely on three basic ingredients: (i) the redshift-dependent galaxy statistics provided by the latest determination of the star formation rate functions from UV+far-IR/(sub)millimeter/radio data; (ii) star formation and chemical enrichment histories for individual galaxies, modeled on the basis of observations; and (iii) compact remnant mass distribution and prescriptions for merging of compact binaries from stellar evolution simulations. We present results for the intrinsic birth rate of compact remnants, the merging rates of compact binaries, GW detection rates, and GW counts, attempting to differentiate the outcomes among black hole-black hole, neutron star-neutron star, and black hole-neutron star mergers and to estimate their occurrence in disk and spheroidal host galaxies. We compare our approach with the one based on cosmic star formation rate density and cosmic metallicity, exploited by many literature studies; the merging rates from the two approaches are in agreement within the overall astrophysical uncertainties. We also investigate the effects of galaxy-scale strong gravitational lensing of GW in enhancing the rate of detectable events toward high redshift. Finally, we discuss the contribution of undetected GW emission from compact binary mergers to the stochastic background.
We investigate the astrophysics of radio-emitting star-forming galaxies and active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and elucidate their statistical properties in the radio band, including luminosity functions, ...redshift distributions, and number counts at sub-mJy flux levels, which will be crucially probed by next-generation radio continuum surveys. Specifically, we exploit the model-independent approach by Mancuso et al. to compute the star formation rate functions, the AGN duty cycles, and the conditional probability of a star-forming galaxy to host an AGN with given bolometric luminosity. Coupling these ingredients with the radio emission properties associated with star formation and nuclear activity, we compute relevant statistics at different radio frequencies and disentangle the relative contribution of star-forming galaxies and AGNs in different radio luminosity, radio flux, and redshift ranges. Finally, we highlight that radio-emitting star-forming galaxies and AGNs are expected to host supermassive black holes accreting with different Eddington ratio distributions and to occupy different loci in the galaxy main-sequence diagrams. These specific predictions are consistent with current data sets but need to be tested with larger statistics via future radio data with multiband coverage on wide areas, as will become routinely achievable with the advent of the Square Kilometre Array and its precursors.
We combine the latest data sets obtained with different surveys to study the frequency dependence of polarized emission coming from extragalactic radio sources (ERS). We consider data over a very ...wide frequency range starting from 1.4 GHz up to 217 GHz. This range is particularly interesting since it overlaps the frequencies of the current and forthcoming cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments. Current data suggest that at high radio frequencies ( ≥ 20 GHz) the fractional polarization of ERS does not depend on the total flux density. Conversely, recent data sets indicate a moderate increase of polarization fraction as a function of frequency, physically motivated by the fact that Faraday depolarization is expected to be less relevant at high radio frequencies. We compute ERS number counts using updated models based on recent data, and we forecast the contribution of unresolved ERS in CMB polarization spectra. Given the expected sensitivities and the observational patch sizes of forthcoming CMB experiments, about ∼200 (up to ∼2000) polarized ERS are expected to be detected. Finally, we assess that polarized ERS can contaminate the cosmological B-mode polarization if the tensor-to-scalar ratio is <0.05 and they have to be robustly controlled to de-lens CMB B-modes at the arcminute angular scales.
With a global population of eight billion people, improving the sustainability and nutritional quality of diets has become critical. Mushrooms offer a promising solution because of their nutritional ...value and ability to be grown from agricultural residues, in line with the circular economy. This study, therefore, focuses on assessing the environmental compatibility of Agaricus bisporus mushroom production in Italy, the world's third largest per capita consumer, by using a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and an integrated Water-Energy-Nitrogen-Carbon-Food (WENCF) nexus analysis. The LCA results reveal that for a functional unit of 23,000 kg of the substrate, the production process emits 2.55 × 10
kg of CO
eq. Sensitivity analysis shows that changing input quantities can reduce environmental impacts by about 5 %. In addition, one scenario evaluates the environmental effects of recycling resources by introducing water and ammonium sulfate from scratch instead of continuous recycling, along with water purification. The study shows that sustainable food production can mitigate resource depletion, climate-altering emissions, and intersectoral competition. Using agro residues for mushroom cultivation and optimizing resource management contribute to environmental sustainability. This approach could not only improve the resilience and efficiency of the food system but could also improve the sustainability of diets. In conclusion, this study highlights the importance of adopting sustainable and circular approaches in mushroom production to address global challenges related to food sustainability.
We present a quantitative analysis of the astrophysical and cosmological information that can be extracted from the many important wide-area, shallow surveys that will be carried out in the next few ...years. Our calculations combine the predictions of the physical model by Granato et al. for the formation and evolution of spheroidal galaxies with up-to-date phenomenological models for the evolution of starburst and normal late-type galaxies and of radio sources. We compute the expected number counts and the redshift distributions of these source populations separately and then focus on protospheroidal galaxies. For the latter objects, we predict the counts and redshift distributions of strongly lensed sources at 250, 350, 500 and 850 μm, the angular correlation function of sources detected in the surveys considered, and the angular power spectra due to clustering of sources below the detection limit in Herschel and Planck surveys. An optimal survey for selecting strongly lensed protospheroidal galaxies is described, and it is shown how they can be easily distinguished from the other source populations. We also discuss the detectability of the imprints of the one-halo and two-halo regimes on angular correlation functions and clustering power spectra, as well as the constraints on cosmological parameters that can be obtained from the determinations of these quantities. The novel data relevant to derive the first submillimetre estimates of the local luminosity functions of starburst and late-type galaxies, and the constraints on the properties of rare source populations, such as blazars, are also briefly described.
We study the concentration parameters, their mass dependence and redshift evolution, of dark-matter halos in different dark-energy cosmologies with constant and time-variable equation of state, and ...compare them with “standard” ΛCDM and OCDM models. We find that previously proposed algorithms for predicting halo concentrations can be well adapted to dark-energy models. When centred on the analytically expected values, halo concentrations show a log-normal distribution with a uniform standard deviation of ~0.2. The dependence of averaged halo concentrations on mass and redshift permits a simple fit of the form $(1+z)\,c=c_0\,(M/M_0)^\alpha$, with $\alpha\approx-0.1$ throughout. We find that the cluster concentration depends on the dark energy equation of state at the cluster formation redshift zcoll through the linear growth factor $D_+(z_{\rm coll})$. As a simple correction accounting for dark-energy cosmologies, we propose scaling c0 from ΛCDM with the ratio of linear growth factors, $c_0\rightarrow c_0\,D_+(z_{\rm coll})/D_{+,~\Lambda{\rm CDM}}(z_{\rm coll})$.
We combine Planck High Frequency Instrument data at 857, 545, 353 and 217 GHz with data from Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), Spitzer, IRAS and Herschel to investigate the properties of a ...well-defined, flux-limited sample of local star-forming galaxies. A 545 GHz flux density limit was chosen so that the sample is 80 per cent complete at this frequency, and the resulting sample contains a total of 234 local, star-forming galaxies. We investigate the dust emission and star formation properties of the sample via various models and calculate the local dust mass function. Although single-component-modified blackbodies fit the dust emission longward of 80 μm very well, with a median β = 1.83, the known degeneracy between dust temperature and β also means that the spectral energy distributions are very well described by a dust component with dust emissivity index fixed at β = 2 and temperature in the range 10-25 K. Although a second, warmer dust component is required to fit shorter wavelength data, and contributes approximately a third of the total infrared emission, its mass is negligible. No evidence is found for a very cold (6-10 K) dust component. The temperature of the cold dust component is strongly influenced by the ratio of the star formation rate to the total dust mass. This implies, contrary to what is often assumed, that a significant fraction of even the emission from ∼20 K dust is powered by ongoing star formation, whether or not the dust itself is associated with star-forming clouds or 'cirrus'. There is statistical evidence of a free-free contribution to the 217 GHz flux densities of 20 per cent. We find a median dust-to-stellar mass ratio of 0.0046; and that this ratio is anticorrelated with galaxy mass. There is good correlation between dust mass and atomic gas mass (median M
d
M
HI
= 0.022), suggesting that galaxies that have more dust (higher values of M
d/M
*) have more interstellar medium in general. Our derived dust mass function implies a mean dust mass density of the local Universe (for dust within galaxies), of 7.0 ± 1.4 × 105 M Mpc−3, significantly greater than that found in the most recent estimate using Herschel data.
Adiponectin (Acrp30) plays an important role in energy metabolism and inflammation. Recently, in vivo serum Acrp30 levels have been reported to be correlated to risk of developing several types of ...cancers such as lung cancer, and in vitro studies have demonstrated a role for Acrp30 in the control of cell proliferation and survival. However, the molecular effects of Acrp30 on lung cancer have not yet been clearly defined. In the present study, we investigated the effects of different concentrations of Acrp30 on the A549 human alveolar epithelial cell line, an in vitro model of lung adenocarcinoma. A549 cells were exposed to various concentrations of Acrp30 and successively, proliferation, apoptosis and oxidative stress were evaluated by MTT test, caspase activity assay, flow-cytometry and western blotting analysis. Our results demonstrated that Acrp30 causes, in a time- and dose-dependent manner, a reduction of cell viability and duplication together with an increase in cell apoptosis rate. In addition, we found that Acrp30 induces an increase of lipid peroxidation evaluated by TBARS assay and a concomitant reduction of nitric oxide release, both markers of cellular oxidative stress. Taken together, our data on A549 cells provides new insight into potential involvement of Acrp30 on physio-pathologic mechanisms of lung diseases through interference with proliferation, apoptosis and oxidative status.
The development of new biologic and targeted synthetic DMARDs can lead to good disease control. The aim of the present study was to assess the rate of remission and low disease activity, and the ...improvement of pain and function, in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients treated with new anti-IL-12/23 and anti-IL-17 biologic agents. A prospective 6-month study was performed. Patients fulfilling the CASPAR criteria for PsA that started ustekinumab, secukinumab and ixekizumab were enrolled and prospectively followed in a setting of clinical practice. Patients were considered in minimal disease activity (MDA), when they met at least 5/7 of the criteria previously defined. DAPSA score ≤4 was also evaluated as a remission criterion. Pain on VAS, PtGA and HAQ were also assessed in all patients. Patients achieving MDA were compared to non-MDA to identify outcome predictive factors. Of the 70 patients treated with ustekinumab, secukinumab and ixekizumab, at baseline, no patients were in MDA or had a DAPSA score ≤4. Ten patients (14.2%) were lost during the follow-up. After 6 months, MDA was achieved in 22 (31.4%) patients. DAPSA≤4 was achieved in 17 (24.2%) patients. Significant improvement in pain, PtGA and HAQ was also found. Patients naïve to anti-TNF treatment achieved more frequently MDA compared to anti-TNF-experienced patients. Male sex, high levels of CRP and absence of comorbidities were found to be predictors of MDA. In our prospective observational study, MDA was achieved in 31.4% and DAPSA remission in 24.2% of patients treated with inhibitors of IL-12/23 and IL-17, thus making this target achievable in PsA patients treated with these drugs.
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